By Steve Hubrecht
Invermere councillor Gerry Taft plans to put forward what will likely end up being a controversial motion at the upcoming Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention.
The Pioneer previously reported how several Invermere council members want to see tweaks to the B.C. Rental Tenancy Act. They feel recent changes to the act have skewed it to favour renters over property owners to such an extent that it is actually resulting in fewer long-term rentals in Invermere (and elsewhere in the province). In their view, the act has made it so onerous to be a long-term landlord that property owners are choosing to forgo renting out their homes simply to save some potentially enormous logistical and bureaucratic headaches.
Now Taft has come up with a proposed motion, which he plans to put on the floor for a vote at the September UBCM meeting. It asks the provincial government to provide grants and subsidies for “small landlords” (who own three or fewer properties) and to develop a process allowing rent rates artificially capped by the act to be gradually raised to market rental rates.
“I’ve definitely seen the problems firsthand, in my work as a realtor,” said Taft.
He said sometimes the artificial rent caps have landlords only able to charge half to one-third the market rental rate. The allowable increase is only two per cent a year, but the costs landlords face are increasing much faster than that, said Taft, adding the current high inflation makes the issue even more acute.
That kind of rent control might make sense in a large city with purpose built long-term rental housing projects, or for large-scale corporate landlords, opined Taft, but often makes no financial sense for people who own two or three houses in small towns in rural areas, such as the Columbia Valley.
“It truly is a horrible business model (to be a small landlord and do long-term rentals),” agreed councillor Grant Kelly. “Why would you ever even think about doing it?”
Taft said his proposal “isn’t a silver bullet. It won’t solve the problem (of a lack of long-term rentals). But the rental situation is getting worse. We’ve got to try something. We are losing long-term rentals and those rentals will be gone forever.”
He acknowledged that “it will be a very contentious resolution on the floor at UBCM. But it needs to be discussed.”
